I’ll admit it…I really like brownies. They are almost as good as cookies, even if there isn’t a muppet called Brownie Monster. I don’t have them very often because, well, just because I don’t. But, to give an idea of how much I like them, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to have with at least one meal a day.

Not too long ago, I saw a link for some raw brownies. My brother was swearing these were the best thing ever, and while I don’t necessarily agree with everything he eats, being brownies, I felt obliged to give them a try.

These are “raw”, as in no cooked ingredients, no baking, no nothing. Just raw ingredients. I’ve had a few raw foods over the years, and they’ve never done much for me, so I was a bit skeptical that they’d be any good.

I’m please to say that they are really good. Actually much better than I would have expected. The kids liked them (bonus 1) and the wife liked them (bonus 2). I made a batch to bring to the office and unleash on unsuspecting carnivores, so we’ll see how it goes.

The nice thing with raw food, is that it’s usually pretty quick and easy to make. And with no cooking, cleanup is pretty easy too. These took about 10 minutes to make, including the time to dig all the stuff out and put the food processor together.

Here is the recipe:

1 cup pecans

1 cup pitted dates (about 22)

5 tablespoons unsweetened coconut

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons honey or agave

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Put pecans in food processor and blend until pieces are small and crumbly, like a course flour. Or cheat, and use pecan meal. You can also use walnuts if you don’t have pecans on hand. I’ve tried both, and think I like the walnuts better, but that’s just my preference.

2. Add the dates, and blend until mixture sticks together. About a minute or two.

3. Add everything else, and blend again until it looks good, another minute or so. This will take on a dark chocolate color. Don’t blend until it’s mush, you want it to be a little fluffy.

4. Press mixture into a small cake pan, not making them too thick. (Personal preference.) Use a piece of wax paper on top to press it down and make it level. If desired, toss some walnuts or carob chip on top.

5. Put in the refrigerator for a few hours, then cut into squares. This isn’t required, but it makes cutting easier, and gives the ingredients time to “melt” together and the flavor is better.

Cutting the recipe into 9 pieces gives the following (using ingredients above without the nuts and carob chips):

I haven’t tried it, but adding in flax or hemp seed would probably be pretty good, and give you a better omega 6:omega 3 ratio, if that’s your thing. There is also a raw frosting recipe you could put on these. I haven’t tried that yet either, but once I do, I’ll let you know.